Choosing Friends and Other Bad Decisions
by Phantom Creedy Lover
Summary: For Leonard McCoy and Cady Levison,joining Starfleet when their track record with trouble was a bad idea. Trusting Jim Kirk with their lives was worse. Taking a shine to each other when she was supposedly "Jim's Girl" and he was "Kirk's Grumpy Sidekick" was probably the worst, but at least it was the most pleasant.
1. Middle of Nowhere

**A/N: Alright. This idea has been bouncing around in my head since the first movie came out, and it kept on getting dropped and brought back, but after Into Darkness, I figured might as well finally start it up, so here it is. I don't own Star Trek, movie or TOS, so on and so forth, enjoy. **

* * *

A sixteen-year-old Cady Levison glanced down at her older sister's first Star Fleet uniform, thrown haphazardly in the trash. How she would ever want to toss the thing, even if it got too small for her, she would never know. She took it out and tucked it under her arm. A little washing and sewing here and there would fix it up plenty. Her foster parents would probably mind that their middle child would be like her sister and brother and join Starfleet, but at least Uncle Chris would be happy… or she thought he would, anyway. She never really knew with him He had one Hell of a poker face. She pulled the dress over her clothes, surveying what she needed to do to fix it. It was only a couple of more years now, then she could go for it and she wouldn't just be playing dress-up.

"Skirt's a bit short, but I'm not complaining."

Cady turned around sharply at the voice, then frowned at the boy who had just turned the corner a few feet away. She recognized him from school- what little of it she had in Middle of Nowhere, Iowa. She didn't know his name, but she knew his face from all of the trouble he seemed to willingly get himself into, smiling all the way. He was also one of the many kids of the bunch who had been orphaned in the USS Kelvin disaster. Starfleet still kept tags on every child that the accident orphaned, and made lists out for all of them for a support system- a support system that barely any of them used. She had a feeling that she should've known him for that reason, but she took care to avoid people with his personality, so she didn't count it as too much of a loss.

She arched an eyebrow, then tugged the skirt down so it covered more of her legs.

The boy shrugged. "Can't blame a guy for trying."

She arched an eyebrow and scoffed. "Can't blame a -What are you,_ twelve_?"

"Fourteen, actually, Legs. You can't be that far off from me, so why are you complaining? Aren't you girls supposed to like that stuff?"

"Not all of us do- I'm one of them," Cady replied. "And I'm too old for you, anyway."

The boy shrugged, then ran his hands through his hair before offering his hand. He was about to open his mouth to speak when another person took their turn to interrupt.

"Cades… who's this?"

Cady turned around and all but squealed upon seeing the speaker. "Uncle Chris!" She launched herself at him, hugging him as tight as possible. "You weren't supposed to be here for three days!"

Christopher Pike smiled down at the girl and returned the hug before pulling back, forgetting about the mystery boy for a moment as he took in the Starfleet uniform. "Figured you could use a surprise," He replied, then took in her appearance in the uniform. "So Mary and Hector are gonna lose all their kids to me and the rest, huh?"

"I think it's cool," The boy supplied.

Christopher arched an eyebrow at him. "Do you? And who might you be, Son?"

The boy straightened out. "James Tiberious Kirk, Sir! Friends call me Jim!"

Christopher was about to laugh at the boy's energ, but the smile dropped immediately into a disbelieving frown. "Kirk as in… George Kirk?"

Jim's own form dropped there. "Yes, sir."

Christopher's smile grew. "Well how about that…"

"How about what, Sir?" Jim blinked.

Christopher just smiled and patted the boy's back. "You have one Hell of a legacy, kid. Leave it at that. Your father was a good man."

"So I've heard," Jim suddenly deadpanned.

"That's nothing to be ashamed of, James. Your father was a good man. A brilliant, brave man," he continued.

"… I have to go," Jim replied quickly before looking at Cadance. "I'll see you at school, I guess," he muttered before hurrying off.

Christopher watched him leave, then looked at Cady. "Did I say something wrong?"

"Sounded fine to me," Cady shrugged.

Christopher hummed in acknowledgement, then put his arm around her. "Listen to me. If you and your family stick around here… keep an eye on him for me. He's…" He hesitated, then squeezed her shoulder. "Just keep an eye on him. He may be worth the show," he kissed the side of her head. "Now, I have to go be a civilian and play catch up with your parents. I'll talk to you later."

"Bye!"

* * *

Her initial meeting with McCoy eight years after that didn't go as smoothly or mark a connection between the pair. Cady was at a recruitment center, hating that this was her surrogate uncle/dad/whatever the latest person's name for their relationship's idea on how to get her into Starfleet. She didn't get it. Rachel was older and Christopher didn't complain when she went in. Did he not have faith in her that he could do it, or did he consider her the baby, just like their blood parents would've? It wasn't right. There was a difference between working your way up and beating around the bush when it came to jobs like this, and this was just barely touching the branches, as far as she was concerned. Despite the complaints of how she got there, she really did like the job. She liked the people and how eager they were- well, most of them were eager, anyway.

She glanced out the window to see the same rugged, completely lost-looking man pass the building for the fifth time. She waited, then smiled weakly when he finally caved in whatever mental battle he was having with himself and walked into the building, or rather stormed in, somehow still having cautious steps. He walked over to her. "So, where do we sign up for all the tests that we need for… this place..._ thing_?"

Cady raised her eyebrows. "You sure you have the right place?"

The man looked at the door and huffed. "Wish I didn't, but yeah, I do."

Cady looked him up and down for a while. "Are you drunk, Sir? Did you lose a bet?"

The man looked stunned for a moment, as did her two coworkers at the booths beside her. "Excuse me?" he demanded.

"It's just… we have people who are happy to sign up, then there are the ones with daddy issues, the ones whose parents essentially force them to join, the ones who are terrified… I've never seen anyone with your level of anger or resentment about this."

"Well you're brutally honest," the man snapped. "Tell me, my ex-wife had that flaw too: Are all you women like that- being honest as long as it puts other people out?"

Cady smirked and held her tongue from responding with something involving women being like that if they had to deal with him. The extra concern about his mental state had already crossed the line enough. "Maybe,"

"Just show me where to sign, Lady. I don't have anything else to lose except time, which that I don't feel like wasting arguing with you.

"Look, Sir. If you think that this is the only way to go if you have 'nothing else to lose'…" She trailed off, then sighed when he frowned at her. "Fair enough, Mister…" Cady began, handing over the data pad to him. "Remember to read the fine print, fill in all other concerns on it, sign in the purple boxes, you should be contacted as soon as your group is needed."

"Leonard McCoy, and fine," Leonard replied, taking the data pad and the pen she handed over. He paused before signing. "So, what's the death toll with these things? Ships, missions, anything…"

Cady opened her mouth and firmly shut it, trying to figure out what to say. She was supposed to know the exact ratio of that for a bunch of sections of Starfleet, but she took care in avoiding the facts. She already had enough experience as far as that went when she was two. She didn't care about the facts. "Not much. There's always the occasional accident, diplomatic relations gone wrong, but… … we get by. There are plenty of experienced officers still around-"

"Could you use medical officers, then? Most of_ t__hose_ stay on the ground, right?"

"Enough do," Cady replied after a moment. "You wanna list that as a specification and hope for the best about the ground part, you can."

Leonard grumbled something and signed the pad in a few places. He handed it back. "Now what?"

"Well, Windy over there will walk you through the next couple of steps that you need to do today. You're set over this way. Have a nice day, then. Or at least try to."

"Nice try, Sweetheart, but it's been a terrible five years. A good day isn't gonna change that," Leonard grumbled before moving on.

Cady watched him, and then when her other coworker on her opposite side, Lana, arched an eyebrow at her, silently asking what he was about, she merely shrugged. He wasn't the worst, but he was sure going to make the top ten grumpiest recruits for that year.

* * *

It had been a matter of a month and a few days since her experience with McCoy, and Cady had been transferred back to Iowa to recruit people there. She had never been so happy to be home. It had been a long year, travelling back and forth from city to city, planet to planet, and now it was time for her and Christopher to take a small break at the bar to catch up, then have her catch up with old friends. Well, it had been nice, contacting her friends and sorting out who she would meet, and having Christopher pick her up and enjoying him all but demanding to tell him about her latest adventures. That, of course, changed, when a familiar blond young man came into view, hoisted up by several Starfleet cadets, then got literally tossed out of the bar. He got up a moment later, yanking the door open and charging back inside.

Christopher stopped in his tracks and sighed. "Go back, get the medkit, then don't go in there til you see the cadets leave," he instructed.

"What?" Cady asked.

"It's Kirk, isn't it?" Christopher asked. "Your old pal?"

"Yeah, but it's been like, three years since I last saw him, so I don't know how the reunion will go."

"Fifteen minutes, Cades," Christopher insisted before heading in the bar, then pointing towards the street her parents lived on. "Go!"

Cady stared at him, then sighed dramatically and turned around, ready to do the task at hand.

Sure enough, fifteen minutes later, she was perched on one of the bar tables, knees digging into Jim's ribs as he leaned over so she could continue cleaning the cuts over his eye and lip.

Jim flinched away from the tenth sting in a row. "Ooow! Damn it, Cay! Stop!"

"I'm trying to help you, you idiot! Hold still!" She flinched in sympathy when Jim jerked away from the alcohol swab she was repeatedly pressing to his eyebrow, right where the skin split from a nasty punch from one of the rougher Star Fleet cadets.

"You can help by telling your friends to buzz off and stop picking on the guys who want nothing to do with Starfleet," Jim snapped.

"You egged them on about Starfleet- and watch what you say about them. I'm one of them! ... kind of."

"So I've heard. The difference being that you're not a pretentious assh-OW!" He flinched again.

Cady stepped back from her work and bandaged it before giving him a gentle pat on the cheek that he flinched away from. "See? It wasn't that hard. You're just a drama queen."

"And you love me for it," Jim replied, giving her a prompt smack on the rear in retaliation, and he beamed when she shot him a glare. "Remember when I would've killed to be between your legs like this?"

"I take care not to," She replied, poking his forehead, to which he chuckled and backed off. "Take it easy! I was eighteen at the time. I could try to kiss ya again like I did then, if you're put off about that comment."

After a moment, she broke and laughed. "You're an idiot. Now, don't come yapping to me when they beat the shit out of you over something you started."

"_I_ didn't start it. Twinkletoes_ outside_ started it."

"Jim…." Cady rolled her eyes at him.

"… Okay, so I kind of started it, but hey, it was about a girl, so boys'll be boys, right?"

"Oh, who's at the receiving ends of your charms, now?"

"Uhura or… something like that, at least for tonight," Jim waved a dismissing hand. "So, Sis, how long you gonna be in town for?"

Cady shook her head. "Only you would recall the time you had the hots for me and then call me your sister within three minutes of each other."

"I was young and stupid. What can I say? I know you're not having any of that now."

"You're slightly less stupid, being that it wasn't that long ago. You just have a filter this time around."

"Agreed!" Jim tossed his hands out dramatically, then let them drop. "So your dad dropped by. Wants me to join your ranks," he announced.

"He's not my dad. And are you gonna do it?"

Jim hesitated, then sighed. "He brought _my_ dad up… he made some good points… I… think I might, even after you all were jerks," He replied.

"You serious?" Cady frowned.

"It'll be fun! And he challenged me, so as far as I'm concerned, I need to bring it."

"It's not something to joke about, Jim! This is… it's serious! People can die! You, me, Rhodie, Gemma, we of all people should really know that. We lost our parents on one of the biggest missions gone wrong!"

"I thought you had the indifference card about this crap since you're a recruiter. I've heard horror stories about you dealing with people, you know," Jim pointed out.

"Because you call me sister and I call you brother. If someone wants to join who I don't know, fine, great for them, they're aware of the danger. So are you, but… I just… I worry."

Jim smiled. "That's why I missed you. You're a pain but you look out for me. But that's it, too. If I really want to do it, and I do know all the risks, and I come from a legacy like that, and I want to, even if it's not just to prove it to everyone else… would you be behind me with this?"

Cady stared at him for a while, then sighed. "Yeah, yeah, I am."

"Awesome. Because taking you with me is gonna be one of my conditions."

Cady leaned back and kicked her legs out. "No! I can't yet! Chris has been keeping tabs on you for ages. He knows your strengths, your weaknesses. You're set. You're already a tailor-made cadet. I'm a pencil pusher."

"And we're gonna change that. Come on, Cay. We have some planning to do!"

* * *

The next morning, the Starfleet Campus was bustling, between new recruits trying to find their way around and meet their new friends, and the older cadets reuniting with their own people or hurrying to classes. Cady glanced up from her spot beside the campus shuttle she had been put in charge of for the day. Her smile faltered only for a moment after she spotted Jim, with Leonard following close behind, apparently hissing something at Jim between clenched teeth.

Jim spotted her and grinned, tossing his hands up in mock confusion. "Cay! The Hell?! Pike finally lets you in Starfleet after a twenty minute argument and you're still doing gruntwork?! What happened to linguistics? Cultural relations?! Come on, we worked hard on sorting out your fields!"

"I'm doing a friend a favor, you ass. I'll be front and center in class with you shortly!" She walked over hugged him.

Jim grinned, then looked over as Leonard collapsed into the back seat of the shuttle. "Bones, really? You're gonna do that and I haven't even introduced my sister?"

"We've met. Don't use his nickname for me, and- _sister_?" Leonard's eyebrows shot up, then looked at Cady. "Oh, Darlin'. I was gonna have some comment about that good day you wished me falling through, but if you're his sister: you poor, poor thing."

Cady laughed, then shrugged. "Well, first off I'm not his blood sister, but yeah, I get it. So you got stuck with him on the ride up, huh?"

Jim made a face, then scoffed. "I've known the guy less than a day and he's like this. See what I have to deal with?" He asked. "He's the one that sat next to me and announced he might get sick on me. I didn't do anything!"

Leonard ignored him. "Because no one would let me stay in the bathroom because no listened when I told shuttles and ships are essentially metal death traps."

"We survived, didn't we?" Jim countered, then looked at Cady. "You get used to him after the first five hours," he replied before hopping into the seat beside Leonard. "You takin' this thing back to Kelvin Hall?"

"Yeah, then it's class time for me."

"Us too! Then let's wait for a few more of these deadbeats to get on this thing, then go kick ass and take names."

Leonard looked back at Cady. "He always like this?"

"Oh, yes," she nodded, getting into the driver's seat.

"Then God help us."


	2. One Step at a Time

**A/N: This is a bit of a filler chapter but I need a litttllleee bulk 'til I get to the events of the first movie. Bonding, humor and McCoy being fed up with life is at least decent filler though, so I hope you enjoy all the same. I may add some expansion to this one if I end up doing a "Deleted Scenes" chapter towards the end or some such. Insert obligatory disclaimer here, movin' on. **

* * *

Nyota Uhura glanced around the gymnasium, watching as a few sets of partners sparred back and forth. It was her turn to be observer and report any mishaps to Commander Pike as things progressed. So far, things were good, except that Gaila and their friend Ki-Lanna were getting a bit too giggly with their match, Leonard McCoy was swearing up and down at his partner, Rhodie, if she recalled properly as the man kept getting cheap shots in, and then a dark-haired girl was barely letting Jim Kirk get a foot off the ground before she knocked him back down- not that she minded too much, but it was starting to seem unfair. She knew that the possibility of an unfair fight during planetary relations was a distinct possibility, but this was training and it was a little too much. "Commander…?" she finally questioned after a moment.

Christopher glanced over at her. "Uhura?"

Nyota paused a moment to wait for another string of McCoy's expletives to stop before continuing. "Permission to speak freely?"

"...Granted…?"

"I understand these exercises are meant to push us cadets and make us try our best, but… don't you think that Kirk and Levison are taking it… a little too far?"

Christopher chuckled, glancing over at the pair, grinning wider when Jim turned the tables and swung the staff he had, only to knock Cady off her feet in return. "The thought crossed my mind, but… they're doing just fine, as far as I'm concerned."

"They could be taking it easy on each other, given their history. And everyone else has a partner of the matching gender, and not that I'm against putting limitations of that against-"

To Nyota's credit, Christopher looked at her with a fondness that he usually reserved for the other four who were making the most noise of the bunch. "Uhura, don't worry about it. It's no secret that I've known those three since childhood and know McCoy a fair bit because of that, no matter how hard I try to cover it up. But, that being said, I know- gender match-ups and all that aside, because of their history, those two are trying the damn hardest to outdo each other than anyone on the floor," he reasoned. After a moment, he crossed his arms over his chest. "The rulebook means next to nothing with classes like this. We've got it all under control," he assured her with a teasing smile.

Uhura glanced over at the pair, watching the girl drop Kirk again, and for him to return the favor moments later. "Fine, but in that case… next week, I call Levison,"

"After a statement like that you don't want to go up against Kirk, Cadet?" Christopher replied.

"He'd enjoy it too much," Nyota replied.

Christopher laughed again. "Well, rumor has it whoever has the most drops in their match first gets to take on McCoy next week, which, by the looks of it, is going to be Levison, so you might have to wait a while," he replied, only to pause when there was a crash, a hissed, "Jesus H. Christ," that clearly came from McCoy, and then dead silence. Christopher offered a smile. "Or sooner, if people last as short as McCoy here,"

Nyota smiled, but it faded when she looked back towards Jim and Cady. "Company," she reported before walking away.

Christopher arched an eyebrow, then looked in the direction she had been, seeing Jim walking toward him, motioning at Leonard and Cady to follow him. He glanced at the clock. Two minutes until the official end of this session, and he had a feeling Jim was about to plot something. No sense in everyone hearing it. "Alright, Cadets. Dismissed. See you Tuesday,"

The crowd dissipated, and Jim, Cady and Leonard still remained, finally reaching him after a few moments. While Jim was practically waltzed over, Leonard was all but dragging himself behind his friend and Cady was attempting to guide him along the way. "I'm definitely getting too old for this," Leonard hissed.

Cady offered a sympathetic smile and reached over to attempt to rub out whatever was making him favor one shoulder.

"I don't even know why they all insist on making me do this with you two. Damn it, I'm a doctor, not a- Oh. _Oooh_, right there, little more pressure too, ah-"

Jim stopped grinning from ear to ear in order to frown curiously at his friends. He merely sighed, watching Cady resort to using the heel of her hand on Leonard's shoulder blade and the doc looked a little too pleased with it, if he thought so himself. "You know, one day I'm gonna walk in on you two going at it and I'm not even gonna know because this is how you two act in public,"

Christopher muffled a snort of disdainful agreement.

"Hit him for me," Leonard deadpanned, then smirked when Cady did as asked. He got even more satisfaction when he spotted Christopher's glare towards Jim at the comment about him and who was pretty much his little girl shifted to his own look of satisfaction.

Jim smirked back, then turned his attention back to Christopher, pleased that the older man was looking at the pair with that same morbid curiosity that he had been moments before, though there was an overprotective father vibe to it. "I want to give the Kobayashi Maru test a try today,"

Now that got Leonard's attention. "You what?"

Christopher arched an eyebrow at Jim before nodding at Leonard, indicating that was his thought as well.

Jim shrugged. "Well, you've said yourself that it's in my blood to succeed…"

"You've been here for a year and what, three months?" Christopher countered.

"Four. And what, Sir? You don't think I can do it?"

"Didn't say that. You_ can_. I just think more practice would do,"

"But my father-"

"Wasn't a _cadet _when he had to take over. He was _first officer_. He had plenty of practice. More than you have," Christopher explained, leaning on thr wall.

"It's worth a shot. Look, I've read all the books, I've done the sims on the computer, but now it's time for the real thing… if I pass, great. If I fail, I move on. What's the worst that can happen?"

Christopher sighed, then looked at Cady and Leonard, who both offered reluctant shrugs. He turned back to Jim. "Fine, but it can't be today. Give it two days so we can schedule things and get a team ready for-"

"Cadets McCoy, Levison, Uhura, and… that guy, that girl, and those two guys over there," Jim cut him off, motioning at the three retreating cadets who were still in view outside.

Christopher looked at the three, then turned back and nodded. "Fine. We'll see to it. McCoy, Cades, the new scripts will be sent to your rooms shortly," he replied, and then looked at Jim again. "The three of you are dismissed now. No arguments,"

Jim grinned and patted him on the bicep. "Knew I could count on you, Buddy,"

"I'm not your Buddy," Christopher shot back, eyebrow raised once again, this time looking quite authoritative.

Jim offered an apologetic smile his way before going off on his own.

Christopher glanced at the remaining two, nodded a farewell and left as well.

After a few moments of silence, Leonard sighed. "Jim's gonna get the pair of us killed in space or through your uncle, isn't he?"

"Oooh, yes," Cady nodded.

"Does he even know that the test is ri-"

"Shhh, don't ruin it for him in case he hears you. We're not even supposed to know that, anyway."

"Fine, but when he fails and complains, it's on you."

* * *

Jim stared ahead at the stairway as he led the way out of the building. "How could I possibly fail that? I had just sent out that rescue party and dodged the debris when that stupid extra ship showed. Is that even legit? Bones, Cades? Did they tell you anything about how the test works?" he demanded, going through the last hour in his head. He had perfected everything. He knew which captains he would channel, he knew what three maneuvers were options for twenty different scenarios- he had gone through all of the motions and failed. It made no sense.

"They gave us a script we had to rehearse, Jim. We had _two days._ They literally let you do this with two days notice. We didn't have time to get more information, so quit when you're ahead," Leonard snapped.

Jim frowned at him. "What's gotten into you?"

"You woke me up at three in the morning to help quiz you on all the evasive maneuvers in Starfleet's book and you ask that question?" the doctor countered.

When Jim looked over at Cady for support and she shrugged, he rolled his eyes. "Thanks, guys."

"It's not like we're not disappointed for you. Jim, we love you. We want you to bury the test and pass with flying colors and go flying into the sunset, but… ... look, I'm just worried for you for more specific reasons then Len is, and he has his own reasons too."

Jim's look of annoyance dropped. "We aren't our parents, Cay."

"I know that. We aren't, so don't beat yourself up that you didn't pass a simulator test on the first go when you're still fairly new here. And if you're digging at us for being worried about you, in my case someone has to be the mother hen- to you _and Len_, even. With you going crazy wanting to be a captain and Len being absolutely terrified of sticking it out to keep us company," she insisted, nodding at Leonard with the last part. When Jim gave no reply, she frowned, then saw him staring down Spock a few feet away. She huffed indignantly and looked at Leonard. "You handle this. Apparently acting maternal doesn't work for me. My folks are inviting everyone to dinner later, so get him out of his hole,"

"I'll try. Oh, and remember- Wednesdays are yours if he does drink himself into a stupor and can barely walk."

Jim lifted his head, finally breaking from his own thoughts. "Wait, you two have custody arrangements for when I get drunk?"

"Or get into a fight, or are hiding from a fling, or you're too awake to bother sleeping or studying," Leonard added.

Jim made a face, then looked at Cady. "So Mom and Dad are coming… when?"

Cady rolled her eyes and smiled. "Eighteen hundred hours… more or less. Try and be there, please? Dad wants to hear all about your arrangements for being captain and all that,"

"You're just jealous he likes his son by popular demand more than his own flesh and blood."

Cady shook her head. "You're an ass. Look, they really wanna see you."

Jim nodded and mock saluted. "I'll be there, I promise."

* * *

Leonard gawked at the man sitting across from him at the restaurant table, not at all sure what to think about him having his nose buried in a Starfleet book. He leaned over to Cady, who was watching Jim with the same expression. "I think that broke him. I think this was the last straw. He's not even looking at any of the girls and that's _terrifying. _We need to do something."

"We don't. It's not the last straw for him. It can't be. He hasn't won yet," Cady whispered back.

"Well well, are those two of my best out drinking on a school night?"

The pair looked up, and upon seeing Christopher making his way over, shoved their beer bottles in the other's direction. "… No!"

Christopher laughed and gave both of their shoulders a reassuring squeeze. "It's fine. You guys are well past legal. I won't hold it against you too much, and it looks like both of you have only nursed one drink, anyway..."

"That's favoritism," Cady pointed out.

"And_ that_ is talking back to a commanding officer," Christopher countered, smirking when she frowned. "At ease. Now, where are your parents? I heard that your sister had to switch ships and I wanna know why."

Cady pointed over her shoulder at her foster parents chatting with another set of adults.

Christopher nodded, then looked at Jim, not bothering to hide the prideful look when he saw the book. "You're still at it, huh?"

"Can't talk, still have to prove you right!" Jim replied without another glance.

Christopher's smile grew and he turned his attention back to the other two. "Make sure he doesn't kill himself, huh?"

"We're working on it," they replied, watching him leave.

After a few moments, Jim seemed to break himself out of his trance. "You know, sometimes I wonder how much shit we wouldn't get away with if Cay here wasn't practically his kid."

"Oh Hon, it's you, too. I'm family, yes, but you're his personal recruit. You have your own special pedestal," Cady replied.

"So I'm the odd person out who shouldn't be getting away with the things I try and talk you two out of?" Leonard asked.

"Shut up, you're second in your part of our class. He loves all of us, Bones. He doesn't do well hiding playing favorites," Jim countered.

"You're never gonna stop with that nickname, are you?" Leonard sighed. "And for his sake, watch where you say that."

"Yeah, yeah," Jim responded before going back to reading. After a while, he looked up. "So… what do you think of that Uhura chick as a study buddy?"

Leonard groaned. "One step at a time, _Jimbo_. One step at a time."

"Well, you're a guy, so you wouldn't know. Cay, what do you think?"

"What Len said."

"I hate both of you so much."

* * *

A few hours later, Cady wasn't surprised when Leonard and Jim showed up at her door, with the former looking murderous and the latter going on and on about some Captain of a starship that had attempted to do what his father had done all those years ago and failed miserably.

Leonard glanced at her, merely muttered "It's ten after midnight. He's yours. I'll see you tomorrow," and all but shoved Jim into her. Jim, to his credit, didn't even seem to mind being passed off. He just started the entire spiel over with her on the receiving end. She steered him over to her desk to make him stop fidgeting.

Her roommate, Leila, looked up. "Are you two_ sure_ you're not a thing?"

"YES!" the pair barked, and within a moment Jim was back to working up a strategy.

"At least bring Spock along one time. At least he's a looker," Leila muttered. "Sure, McCoy's attractive but he can be way too grumpy..."

Jim sighed dramatically. "We heard that- and waaayy out of your league, Kalomi. Your best bet is drugging the pointy-eared bastard to get any reaction out of him."

"Don't tempt her, please," Cady cut her off.

"You love me," Leila countered.

"I do. Now Jim, keep talking about Captain Wilson-"

"Bilson, Cay. Captain _Bilson_. And I mean, how did he even miss that little detail and then just… _that, _and Kaboom!"

"Jim, have you even slept at all?" Cady cut him off, sitting next to him.

"No. I gotta study for the next one of these, so there's no time."

"The next one can't be for another four months. Chris told us that. You know that. I'm not gonna let you stay awake for four months."

"Bones has the resources."

"Bones will knock you out himself after the first week, I guarantee it."

Jim frowned at her, then blinked. "Good point."

"Remember 'one step at a time'? Get some sleep, we'll work out a plan tomorrow. Deal?"

"Deal. Now give me the other pillow. Yours sucks."

"You're not spending the night here. There are enough annoying rumors with us."

"I'll go find some girl to distract everyone and then no more rumors. Hey Leila-"

"_No,_"the brunette cut him off at the pass.

"Then I'll try for _Gaila _again," Jim replied, all but throwing himself on Cady's bed.

"Oh, not there- and would you quit making Gaila your go-to distraction? She really likes you and she's a nice girl and doesn't deserve that."

"I'm well aware, and I'm interested in her too, which is why I said her name after the one who's in the room right now and who would know why I'm doing it, so I'll deal with it later. Night, Sis."

Cady went to respond again, only to see the young man was already out like a light. She sighed and tossed one of the blankets over his feet before heading back to her desk. If it was going to be a long four months, she figured starting to study for tests a year from then would help.


End file.
